Hurricane Isaias, the first of the 2026 Atlantic season, made landfall on the northern Gulf Coast of Florida on Friday night, bringing heavy rain and strong winds with it.
Isaias is still rising over southeastern parts of the United States after downgrading to a post-tropical cyclone, BBC US partner CBS News reports, external.
Hundreds of thousands of homes in Florida, Alabama and Georgia are without power, and each state has issued a state of emergency amid warnings of life-threatening storm surges.
Isaias is one of three storm systems to affect North America this weekend, with the other two hitting Mexico and Southern California in the El Niño-driven warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Both Florida and Alabama have imposed mandatory evacuations for thousands of people due to the storm.
In Florida, these evacuations include coastal communities in the direct target of the powerful storm. Florida Senator Rick Scott encouraged residents in designated areas to evacuate as soon as possible, as he warned in a social media post: “DON’T WAIT! Get out now!”
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued a mandatory evacuation for all non-residents, tourists and visitors in key counties likely to be heavily affected by the storm.
Hurricane Isaias is the first hurricane in the Atlantic hurricane season, which has been delayed largely due to El Niño conditions in the Pacific.
It is the first time in more than 30 years that a hurricane has only formed in October.
The storm is likely to bring “life-threatening storm surge” to the US Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned.
After hitting Florida, the center of Isaias is forecast to move across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service said late Friday.
As of Friday evening, hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from Isaias’ center, and tropical storm-force winds extended up to 205 miles (335 km).
On Saturday morning, the NHC said all hurricane warnings have been discontinued, while a storm surge warning is in effect for parts of Florida. There is also a tropical storm warning for the state, as well as eastern Alabama.